Lot 82
British/American (1900-1970)
Portrait of Anita (1940)
Medium

oil on canvas

Dimensions

19 x 16 inches

Estimate: $200 - $400

Price Realized: $224
Includes buyer's premium

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Frame Information

unframed

Provenance

From the Estate of Clara Klinghoffer

Condition

spots of loss along the top edge and some scattered throughout, puncture in the canvas in the upper left, light rabbet abrasions along all four edges

A selection from

The Estate Clara Klinghoffer

Image for Collection The Estate Clara Klinghoffer

Clara Klinghoffer’s legacy is one of baffling natural talent: at only 19 years old, she held her first solo exhibition of 60 works in London. Critics immediately drew comparisons to Old Masters such as Rembrandt and Hals, dubbing Klinghoffer “the girl who could draw like Raphael.” Although she worked across mediums, the artist is most well known as an exquisite draughtsman, particularly excellent at rendering portraits. In 1981, Terrence Mullaly of The Daily Telegraph described “her obvious sensitivity towards her sisters… enforced by her ability not only to suggest weight and substance of a body, but also to convey mood.” 

Klinghoffer was born in Poland in 1900 and grew up in London’s East End. In 1929, she moved to Holland with her husband and child, where they stayed for ten years before returning to London to escape Nazi occupation. The artist left many of her works behind in Holland, where they were eventually stolen. Today, her remaining works can be found in prominent museum collections such as those of the Tate Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery, both located in London.